When we create and distribute PDF files, it’s important to consider where the document is going to end up. With the proliferation of online content, there are more and more PDF files scattered all over the Web. Whether it’s bloated, print-quality documents,  or incorrect (even absent) metadata, taking the wrong steps when creating your PDF files can result in them not being found or read.

In this post; we’re going to cover how you can use Nitro PDF Professional to optimize the accessibility and ease-of-use of your PDF files on the Web.

Keeping file size under control

So, you’ve created your document, proceed to upload it, and come across a problem – it takes an hour to upload. High-resolution photos, screenshots, and charts (amongst others) will appear in your PDF file in the same context they were originally sourced – if it’s a 10 megapixel, 10 megabyte photo, and you insert it, your document will pay for it via its digital waistline.

The more obvious solution here is to control it at the front-end – minimize the file size on all objects before inserting them. This isn’t always possible, however, as you may not have had any involvement in the creation process.

To optimize your PDF files in Nitro Pro, simply click the Nitro button, open the ‘Prepare’ tab, and click ‘Optimize Document’. Within this feature, you can choose to Optimize your document for Web, Office, or Professional quality – in ascending file size – as well as remove objects, including forms, JavaScript®, bookmarks, attachments, and more…

Helping users locate your PDF files on the Web

We recently discussed using PrimoPDF to create indexable, searchable PDF files by means of maximizing the metadata fields in your document – you can also do this with Nitro Pro, and our free online PDF editor, PDF Hammer. We’re not going to dive into the exact science of search — but you can certainly make the most of a couple of features to enhance the likelihood of your PDF files being indexed and found by search engines.

As you can see in the above screenshot, taken in Nitro Pro, you can assign text in the form of metadata fields to your document. Most importantly — for search indexing — is the ‘Title’ field – most search engines will display, or at least consider the characters within this field, first, in search results.  An example search result is below – an Ebook, from Planet PDF.

When we open the PDF file in our viewer or editor (screenshot below), it’s quite obvious that the search result is showing the text that first appears within the document – the Planet PDF logo (an image), doesn’t show up in the search results, but we can see  that the description follows the exact order the text appears in the document.

Looking at the relationship between the document and Google listing, it’s easy to establish that the text you include first in any PDF file is what will likely appear in search results. So, avoid unnecessary information and repetition. That’s not to say that for every PDF file you create, a search listing should dictate what content you place first in the document! It’s certainly worth considering, however, if you’re intending to upload it.